clogged floor drain

Father's garage floor drain is clogged. Snaked 25' with small hand snake, ran oput of snake. Purchased large 3/8" hand snake and got to 30' where it would go no further. Should I rent power snake? Any other options? Thanks

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Is this a detached or attached garage? Do you or he know if the floor drain is actually tied to the sewer/septic. Many garage floor drains are either just a pipe running away from the garage or in the case of detached garages may run to a makeshift "drywell".

Thirty feet is a pretty good run on a 3/8" hand snake. You could be "bouncing" at the hub of a fitting. Try cranking it in first one direction for 4 or 5 turns and then 4 or 5 turns in the opposite
direction without relaxing the forward pressure. If that doesn't let you hop through the fitting or past the blockage I would recommend calling a sewer rodding service. They use a powered 1" rod that can go 170-180 feet. The only problem is if you haven't used one of these puppies they do have a reputation for literaly tearing fingers off if you get caught.

Just one other thing you might try before calling a pro... Get a hose and create a seal around the hose with a wet towel and hold it in place for a few minutes with the water turned on. You would be surprised what 40 to 60 PSI of water pressure can do to get a clog moving. Note of caution - do not use this method for a drain that is not under ground. It can push drain pipes apart in walls and cause damage.

I was thinking if he used 30' he probably went through the clog. How do you know when you are in the problem area with a jetter. Does it push through a clog like a snake. I was out of the business before they came out with all those cool jetters and cameras and stuff.

I was thinking if he used 30' he probably went through the clog. How do you know when you are in the problem area with a jetter. Does it push through a clog like a snake. I was out of the business before they came out with all those cool jetters and cameras and stuff.

Rege

The jetters are self propelled using water pressure pushing against the pipe to go in. When the jetter hits the clog it will slow down or stop until it clears the obstruction. Then when the jetter starts going in again it has cleared the stoppage. I usually keep running the jetter in for a few more feet to mke sure that was the only problem then pull it back slowly running it back and forth until it comes out. The best way to run a jetter is from below the stoppage in but in most cases this is not possible unless you dig down and install a cleanout going into the structure. You can go to the gen-eye web site and watch a demo of how it works. They use to have a demo anyway.

Pittsburgh Plumber saves duck family

George Jessup was on duty, driving his plumbing company’s truck. But when he saw a duck sitting on a storm drain on a busy road in Shaler, he didn’t think twice about stopping.

“The duck wouldn’t move, and it was in a dangerous position on Anderson Road. It piqued my curiosity,” Mr. Jessup said.

When he approached the duck he heard “peep peep peeping” and realized there were ducklings in the storm drain. He just had to help.

Mr. Jessup, 49, of Millvale, got busy on his cell phone. His first call was to his boss, Bob Beall, franchise owner of Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Pittsburgh. He told him to go ahead and help the ducklings, “and he said he’d cover me” if customers called with plumbing emergencies, Mr. Jessup said.

When he couldn’t budge the heavy grate, he called Shaler police and volunteer firefighters. The ducklings “were flipping out,” he said, and the mother duck, a mallard, was agitated.

“The firemen took the grate off. It must have weighed 300 pounds,” Mr. Jessup said. “Then a police officer reached in and picked up the ducklings. There were six or seven. They were the cutest things you ever saw — brownish with some white and yellow.

To make sure they got every duckling, Mr. Jessup sent Mr. Rooter’s video inspection camera down the pipe. There were no more.

“It was just inspiring how everyone pitched in,” he said.

After their three-hour ordeal, mamma and her ducklings “just waddled off,” he said.

Mr. Beall got one emergency call while Mr. Jessup was rescuing ducklings; he called another plumber in on his day off.

“Mr. Rooter practices courtesy as a normal part of doing business,” he deadpanned.